Coach Is Caught Forcing Girls into Painful Splits -- & That's Not Even the Worst Part

Cheerleading can be a dangerous sport, but when it's the coach and fellow classmates inflicting physical damage on the cheerleader, there's a serious problem. An upsetting video captured exactly that during a summer cheer camp and has recently gone viral, as people wonder how nobody was held reasonable for this shocking incident sooner.

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In the video, a 13-year-old girl from Colorado can be heard screaming in pain as her male coach pins her to the ground. Despite Ally Wakefield yelling "please stop!" on multiple occasions, her coach and fellow cheerleaders continue to force her into a splits position and keep her there.

"I just didn't expect to have to do elevated splits, and be forced into it," Ally told KUSA.

The newly hired coach, Ozell Williams, ignored the teen's pain and used his bodyweight to push her shoulders into the ground, leaving her in need of medical attention. The incident originally happened in June, and Ally's mom only found out about it when East High School's athletic director sent an email letting her know that her daughter had been injured and was seen by a doctor.

According to the email, the doctor found torn muscle tissue, damaged ligaments, and a pulled hamstring from being forced into the splits position when she wasn't physically ready to be.

"This is a grown man pushing my 13-year old girl so hard against her will while she's crying and screaming for him to stop, that he's ripping tissue in her body," mom Kirsten Wakefield told KUSA. "I don't understand why this man is still employed there."

Months later, Denver police have just launched an investigation after an anonymous tip was brought to their attention. Denver Public Schools also put six administrators on leave during the investigation. "With regards to certain videos, I cannot state strongly enough -- as the superintendent of the school district and as the father of two high school-aged daughters -- that the images and actions depicted are extremely distressing and absolutely contrary to our core values as a public school community," Superintendent Tom Boasberg told People in a statement.

The Denver police department also confirmed to People that child abuse detectives are actively involved but that they are unable to provide additional information while the case is open.